Fixture-support.



A. C. MUWILLIAMS. FIXTURE SUPPORT. APPLICATION FILED MAR. e, 191s.

1,121,568. Patentd Dec.15,1914.

ARTHUR C. '.MCVJXLLIAMS, OF SOUTH BEND, INDN,

FlXTURE-SUPPORT.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 15, 1Q14.

Application led March 6, 1913. Serial No. 752,363.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that l, ARTHUR C. MclVrL- LIAMS, a citizen of the United ing at South Bend, in the county of St. Joseph and State of Indiana., have invented acertain new and useful Improvement in Fixture-Supports, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to fixture supports, such for example as are adapted to support electric lighting and other I'ixtures.

`While my device may be used in dierent situations, it is especially applicable to interior lighting work.

It will be understood by those skilled in the art that it is ,common in present day building 'practice to run electric wires in conduits laid in the walls and' ceiling., ln overhead work in ireproof floors the conduits run between the tile ceiling of one room and the rough wood Hoor of the room above. These conduits terminate in outlet boxes, securely fastened against the tile ceiling.

The purpose of my invention is Jtti-provide States, resida support for such outlet boxes and for the i Xtures associated therewith.

Ancillary to the main purpose of my invention it is my object to provide a device of this character which may be conveniently carried in stock and quickly assembled when delivered to the place of use; also to provide a xture of simple Jform and great mechanical strength and so formed that when the parts are assembled thedepending element will rigidly grip the cross bar and prevent it from slipping.

lt is also an object to provide a construction by which inequalities in the supporting structure will be automatically compensated for.

l, btain my objects by the device illustrated in the accompanying drawings in whichf Figure 1 is a perspective view ot the assembled fixture support. Fig. 2 is a detail showing the parts during the process of being assembled. Fig. 8 is similar to Fig. 2

- except that the cross bar is shown wedged in i'inal position. Fig. 4 is a vertical section of a typical ceiling construction showing niyfixture support in position therein. Fig. 5 is' similar to Fig. 4 but shows the cross bar supported with one end higher than the other due to the inequalities in the ceiling structure.

Similar numerals refer to similar parts throughout the several views.

My device consists of two parts, the cross bar l and the depending element 2 which is formed preferably of a pipe threaded at its lower' end and flattened at its upper end by drop forging or otherwise. Passing through this flattened upper end of the pipe is an aperture 3 the sides whereof converge slightly as they rise, for the purpose ot tightly gripping the sides of the bar l. At the lower end said aperture is wide enough to permit the bar to be freely inserted. The cross bar is preferably rectangular in cross section and lies with its greatest cross sectional dimensions vertical when in place.

To illustrate the manner or" use, l have shown inFig. e a typical building construction in which a is the ceiling plaster, t the tiling above it, 0 the nailing strips above the tiling, (Z the rough flooring upon the nailing strips, e'the top flooring and ,t the filling of concrete between the tile and the rough flooring. ln the process of building, the tiles are lirst put in place, supported upon the beams in the well known manner. n t3ter the tiles are in place an opening o is formed therein at the point where the lighting lixture is to hang. @enduits it are then laid upon the tiles and the ends brought down through the opening in the tiling as shown. The slotted pipe 2 of mv fixture support is then dropped through the opening until the cross bar l rests upon the top of the tiling.

The apertured outlet box j is then clamped against the bottoni of the tile by a clamping nut which draws the parts firmly together, forcing the cross bar to a .drm bed upon the tiling, forcing the slotted pipe into secure engagement with the cross bur. and holding the outlet box tightly against the bottom ot the tiling. The construction is thus exceedingly rigid. rllhe lower ends ot' the conduits are also fastened to the outlet box as a result of which still 0"renter security and rigidity is obtained. fter the conduit, lixture support and outlet box are in place, the concrete filling and Hooring may be laid and the plaster a applied to the under surface of the tiling in the usual manner. The lighting fixture may then be hung as illustrated for example in F ig. 5, where the nipple m which supports the iXture pipe ln, is screwed directly on to the lower end of the solid pipe 2.

v -In theV best form of my device the aperture 3 in the head of the depending element 2 is so narrow at the upper end that the depending element will seat upon the cross bar before the latter reaches the upper end of said aperture the bar along the sides thereof and the gripping action will be set up whether the cross bar is exactly horizontaler not. In fact, the cross bar may depart considerably from the horizontal as shown in Fig. 5 without impairing the efficiency of the device. Another advantage in my construction is that the depending element always tends to hang truly vertical. Furthermore all ma- .chine work -is dispensed with except the threading at the lower end of the dependin element, for the formation at the upper end may be produced by forging or press work. i This device consists of but two pieces, easily ,25 and cheay made and quicklyassembled.

While tangularcross section as illustrated inthe 3. As a result, the engage- 10 ment is confined to the upper portion ofv prefer to use a cross bar of rec-4 Y ture and may be used in a great variety of situations.

What I claim as new and desire to secure byLetters Patent is: p A support for electric light fixtures comprising a cross bar and a hanging'harhav-- ing a tapered aperture thereinv for receiving the cross bar, the aperture being narrower at the top than at the bottom, and narrower at the topv than the top of the cross bar; whereby the hanging bar may be slid along the crossl bar and is wedgingly held against sliding along the bar when weight is placed upon the hanging bar.

Inwitness whereof, I have hereunto subscribed my name in the presence of two witnesses. A v i ART 5"; C. MGLAMS.

Witnesses: GEORGE ArCRANr., VE. L. SrENcm. 

